


Amsterdam

by sir_kingsley



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, M/M, Mechanic Dean Winchester, Professor Castiel (Supernatural), Sick Dean Winchester, previous Castiel/others - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21574774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sir_kingsley/pseuds/sir_kingsley
Summary: Dean has been working a lot lately and Cas is getting worried.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 17
Kudos: 311





	Amsterdam

**Author's Note:**

> This was a very quick and random thing that came to mind. I apologize for any grammar mistakes! There's like a single sentence of smut near the end.

Cas swings through the front door to find a dark and quiet apartment for about the fifth night in a row. Dean has been picking up extra shifts lately and the poor man is so tired he can barely keep his eyes open past 8 p.m.

Cas quietly places his bag on the dining table and tiptoes to their bedroom. Sure enough, there’s a large mound snuggled securely under the blankets in their bed, the sound of soft snoring ebbing in the darkness.

As quietly as possible, Cas gets ready for bed and joins in his boyfriend under the covers. He wriggles in behind Dean which is nice and toasty and he kisses the back of Dean’s neck. Dean is a notoriously light sleeper and would usually stir awake enough at this point to turn over and hug Cas to his chest, slur out a “g’night, sweetheart” before knocking back out. 

He doesn’t move this time, doesn’t even grunt when Cas’s cold feet move down the length of his legs. He must be truly exhausted, Cas figures and wraps his arms around Dean’s warm middle. 

Tomorrow is their first day off together in a while. Cas decides he’ll do something special, maybe wake up early and make Dean breakfast in bed, something that will no doubt have Dean rolling his eyes even as he tries to hide his blush at the kind gesture. Cas has come to enjoy the challenge of spoiling Dean to the point that it’s almost his favorite game. 

Dreaming up a few more ideas for how to lovingly irritate his boyfriend tomorrow, Cas closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

Cas does manage to wake up earlier than Dean the next morning which is no small feat considering Dean’s body seems to be hardwired to wake up at 5 a.m. every day on the dot. 

He throws on the some sweats and sneaks out of the dark bedroom ans into the kitchen.

Cas isn’t really a cook, it was a skill no one thought to share with him growing up. But with the internet and Dean’s mentoring the past two years, he knows enough to make a simple spread of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. 

He’s just starting to plate everything when the bedroom door opens and Dean wanders in wearing his uniform. Cas immediately frowns.  
“‘Morning, sweetheart,” Dean says and kisses the top of his head. “Whatcha got cooking in here?”

“I was making us breakfast,” Cas says slowly as Dean moves to grab his boots. “Isn’t today your day off?” he asks. 

Dean’s smile is apologetic. “Covering a shift for Benny.”

Cas’s frown only deepens. “Dean, you’ve been working a lot lately. Don’t you think you should rest?”

Dean is bent over lacing up his boots. When he straightens up he looks half-asleep until he blinks and suddenly there’s that over easy smile that caught Cas’s heart in the first place. 

“Wish I could, Cas, but they didn’t have anyone else to cover.” He walks back into the kitchen and Cas watches his every step, noticing something off about his cadence. When Dean pulls him into a hug his body is just as warm as it was last night.

“Are you feeling okay?” Cas asks.

“Me? Yeah, of course,” Dean says. 

“You seem off. You’re sure you’re not coming down with something? It’s flu season.”

Dean scoffs. “Please, as if the flu could catch me. I’m just tired. But all this craziness should end soon. I’m sorry for missing out on your breakfast.”  
“It’s okay. I’ll just see if Meg wants to have brunch.” He tilts his head back and kisses the bolt of Dean’s jaw. “Be careful.”

“Always,” Dean replies with a grin.

Cas fills his day with errands and friends. He cleans around the apartment, not that there’s much to clean because Dean is such a neat freak nothing is given the opportunity to get dirty. 

Just as he starts planning something from dinner, he gets a text from Dean that he’s pulling a double and for a moment he can feel his blood boil. It feels like they haven’t seen each other in over a week and Cas misses his boyfriend.

He gets dinner with a friend and finally makes it home around 7 p.m. He spies the impala in the parking garage and smiles, thinking he can get at least an hour of quality time with Dean before his boyfriend passes out. 

But when he opens the door, the lights are out and it’s quiet again. He finds Dean in bed, breathing already slow and deep. It’s barely 7:08. Something about this starts to scare Cas.

At least tomorrow in Sunday so the garage will be closed and Cas will be able to keep Dean to himself and make sure the stubborn man is taken care of.  
Except the next morning when Cas wakes up, Dean is gone. He finds a note on the counter at the shop doing paperwork for Bobby! Should be home by 4:00.  
He is not home by 4:00. It’s past 9:00 when Dean finally wanders in and Cas is ready to fucking pounce until he sees how slowly Dean is walking, how flushed his face look.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asks rushing to the living room and slapping his hand over Dean’s forehead.

Dean smiles and waves his worry away. “‘Course. Just hot. Sorry I’m late but I was tracking down some parts. Figured if I could get them today I’d be able to get off early tomorrow.”

All Cas can focus on is the redness in Dean’s face and the glassiness of his eyes. “I think you’re seriously coming down with something.”

Dean raises his own hand to his forehead. “I guess you could be right. I’ll take some medicine before bed and see how I feel in the morning. If I need to, I’ll just work in the office tomorrow.”

“If you’re sick you need to say home,” Cas says sternly. 

Dean laughs and kisses the top of Cas’s head and it strikes Cas that they haven’t really kissed in several days now. “I’m sure it won’t come to that, Cas.”

Cas watches to make sure Dean takes medicine and they get ready for bed together. Usually they’d spend an hour or so talking while they cuddle — or some more x-rated activities — but Dean passes out the second his head hits the pillow.

He’s gone in the morning before Cas wakes up. Cas sends a text to check on him before he goes into his first class of the day and Dean’s response says he’s feeling much better and that he’s picking up Thai for dinner because he’s working another double.

Cas is late getting home because a freshman had a break down during office hours. Only after assuring her that a late paper was not the end of the world and she was going to be fine and sending her home with a friend, was Cas able to leave campus. 

When he gets home the lights are off again save for the kitchen and there’s a note letting him know his dinner is in the microwave. He finds Dean in bed.  
Fed up, Cas pulls out his phone.

“Hello?” a gruff voice answers.

“Bobby? This is Cas.”

“I can read the damn caller ID. What do you want?”

“I’m worried about Dean. I realize you need help filling in while Benny’s away but Dean hasn’t had a day off in almost two weeks and I’m afraid it’s taking a toll on him. Isn’t there anyone else who can help pick up these shifts?”

“Of course there is, but that dumbass won’t let anyone take them. Keeps saying he needs the extra money.”

Something in Cas’s stomach sinks. What could Dean possibly need extra money for? He already gets paid extremely well and he knows if he ever needs anything Cas would never refuse to help him. 

“Thank you, Bobby, I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“And when you do tell that idget to get some damn sleep. I can’t have zombies walking around here.”

They end the call and Cas sneaks back to their bedroom where Dean lies, dead to the world. Cas slips under the covers and wraps himself around his boyfriend who doesn’t stir an inch. The worry is still big in Cas’s chest, so he just presses closer, settling his face between Dean’s shoulder blades and trying to find the comfort this body usually offers.

Cas wakes up earlier than usual to see Dean before he leaves for work. He can hear puttering in the kitchen and forces himself to roll out of the warmth of their bed.  
“Well, good morning, sunshine,” Dean chirps with obvious surprise when he sees Cas wander in slowly. He pours coffee into his travel mug before swinging around to kiss Cas’s temple. “What’s got you up so early? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you conscious before 7 a.m.”

Cas immediately fists his hand in Dean’s work shirt and holds Dean close. “Wanted to see you,” Cas murmurs. He can feel when Dean naturally goes to pull back and finds that he can’t. He also feels the way Dean immediately softens and his arms come up to hug Cas close. There’s another kiss lost in his hair.  
“I’ve missed you too,” Dean whispers. “You have no idea.”

Cas wants to tell him to call off, just stay with him. He knows he has some questions to ask, needs to find out what the hell Dean’s been up to but that all falls to the back burner as he’s hit with just how much he’s missed this man holding him right now.

But just as he opens his mouth the oven timer goes off and Dean is moving out of his reach. 

“They were supposed to be a surprise but I went and picked up those cinnamon rolls you like while I was getting our dinner last night,” Dean says as he opens the oven door and the apartment is flooded with cinnamon and butter. 

Somehow Cas ends up on a stool and there’s a cup of coffee in his hands. “You seem... much more energetic,” Cas observes. 

Dean laughs as he continues running about. “Guess I finally got those extra hours of sleep I needed.”

And maybe he’s right because this is more like the Dean he knows, awake at Satan’s hour and busy as a been, always ahead of everyone else and making it look easy. This is Dean’s normal. 

“Oh hey. I also went ahead and packed your lunch,” Dean tells him from the fridge as he grabs his own lunch bag. “And I thought we could do pasta for dinner tonight. That sound good?”

Cas hums around his coffee, feeling warmer than he has in weeks as Dean spits out plans and puts their lives back in order. “Sounds perfect, Dean.”

Dean finishes getting ready for work and comes round to kiss Cas goodbye. Cas naturally tilts his head back and purses his lips which pout when the kiss is once again delivered to his head.

Dean chuckles at him as he moves away. “Hey, you’re the one who said it’s flu season and only one of us works around germy kids all day.”  
“They’re not kids, they’re college students,” Cas objects.

“Even worse,” Dean says with a frantic shudder. 

“I want my kiss, Dean Winchester,” Cas whines, making grabby hands in the direction of his fleeing boyfriend.

Dean laughs as he heads for the door. “Oh no, Dr. Novak. You’re not breaking my clean record.” He slips into his jacket and picks up his bag. “I’ll see you tonight, babe. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Cas calls back and then Dean is gone.

Cas turns back toward the kitchen which is still warm and bright from Dean’s presence, and a complete starch difference from how it’s been the last few weeks.  
He had been so damn worried something was wrong with Dean but maybe things were finally back to normal. 

All hopes of that were shot to hell around noon when Cas got a call from Bobby that Dean passed out while under someone’s car. 

Cas immediately canceled the class he was teaching, ignoring the concerned faces of his students as he gathered his things and raced out of the lecture hall.  
Bobby gave him the name of the hospital Dean was being taken to. By the time Cas arrived Dean was already in a room. He looked pale and more tired than ever propped up on a hospital bed, an oxygen mask strapped to his face, IV pumping into him and all sorts of wires monitoring the different functions of his body. Bobby and Benny sit on either side of him. 

“Dean,” Cas says as he rushes in. “What happened?”

Both men look at Dean who shakes his head wildly but they seem to both agree that Dean’s opinion doesn’t matter in this situation.  
Bobby looks to Cas and delivers the news, “Idgit went and got himself pneumonia.”

Cas feels his own lungs stop working for a second. 

“Apparently he’s had the flu for a while but wasn’t properly treating it,” Benny explains. “And this is the result.”

Dean moves the mask away to insist, “It’s not that big of a de-” 

“What did I tell you about taking that mask off one more time?” Bobby warns and Dean snaps the oxygen mask back in place, eyes simmering with annoyance.  
Cas is still in a state of shock. Because that’s his boyfriend in a hospital bed. With fucking pneumonia. 

“We should probably head out,” Benny suggests to Bobby. “I think they have a lot to talk about.”

Bobby grunts as if to say that’s an understatement. He faces Dean and wags a finger. “You listen to these doctors and I better not see your ass anywhere near the garage for at least two weeks.”

A muffled noise comes from Dean’s mask and his eyes narrow.

“I can make it three real easy, boy.”

The noises stop instantly.

Bobby and Benny weave around Cas and Bobby gives him a resigned head shake. “Don’t be too hard on him,” he advise before they step out of the room.  
Dean’s heart monitor spikes when the door clicks shut and Cas almost flinches. Dean looks so small and scared now even with half his face hidden and Cas wants to assure him but he can’t. 

“Pneumonia,” is the first word that Cas can think to say. “You have pneumonia.”

A cloudy sound that resembles Cas’s name comes from the mask and he cuts Dean off with a sharp look. 

“Don’t you dare even try to blow this off, Dean Winchester,” he warns, heat thrumming through his body and into his words. “You had me going out of my mind with worry for weeks. In bed by 8 every night, always working, barely eating. And I kept asking about your health and you lied to me and now you have fucking pneumonia!” He can’t help the way his voice raises as he goes on and Dean’s eyes widen with each octave Cas hits until he’s practically screeching.

Cas forces himself to take a deep breath. Several deep breaths. Until he feels calm enough that he won’t yell. 

“I want answers,” he says, much quieter than before. “I want to know what you’ve up to, why you’ve been overworking yourself when according to Bobby he’s had plenty of other people who could have filled in. I want to know why you’ve been lying to me and most importantly I want to know what could be so goddamn important that you would sacrifice your own health.”

Dean is still for several moments, watching Cas as he paces around the room, waits a little while more to make sure Cas is truly finished. His shoulders sag and he starts gesturing toward the chair across the room which holds his clothes. 

Frowning, Cas makes his way over to the chair. He looks back at Dean, confused as he picks through Dean’s things and the bedridden man shakes his head. Finally he picks up Dean’s jacket and Dean nods. Cas carries the coat to Dean who digs into his pocket until he finds his phone. He unlocks it and begins scrolling away until he finds what he needs and, with what might be the grumpiest he’s ever looked, hands the phone to Cas.

It’s a webpage containing flight times and departures. Flights to... Amsterdam? 

“You want to go to Amsterdam...?” Cas looks up into Dean’s eyes and the disappointment he finds there cools all the heat raging inside him. “Dean?”

Dean reaches up to remove the oxygen mask again and Cas starts to protest but Dean bats his hand away gently and his eyes beg from grace that Cas can’t deny. So he settles on the hospital bed next to Dean’s legs and waits.

“When we first started... dating,” Dean rasps, his voice so soft Cas has to lean closer to hear, “you talked about... how Gadreel would take you... to Amsterdam every year.” Cas almost flinches at his ex’s name. “And how it was...” Dean takes a wheezy breath and breaks out in a coughing fit. Cas raises the mask to Dean’s face and makes him take a few breaths until he’s calmed down, the whole time his own heart constricting and sinking. 

“Dean,” he pleads, “please don’t tell me you...”

Dean pushes the mask away. “You said it was... your favorite place. And... you haven’t been...since... we started dating. I... wanted to... surprise you.” 

The dots are well and connected by now and form a line pointing straight to Cas’s shame. “This is why you told Bobby you needed extra money,” Cas whispers.  
Dean breathes into the mask, slow and deep. “Had enough saved for the lodgings and every. Just needed... more for the... plane tickets.”

Cas doesn’t know what to say in this moment, too occupied by the symphony of unpleasant emotions stirring in his stomach. He still can’t believe Dean even remembered the few stories Cas had shared about his previous relationship. He doesn’t make a habit of talking about his time with Gadreel because for the most part there wasn’t much to tell. It had been a borderline arranged marriage between their families, the most honorable way to do away with the two gay sheep of the families and maintain their prestige. There had never been much between the two aside from subdued but pleasant conversation, a lackluster and occasional sex life, and their annual trips to Amsterdam. 

Of all the places he’d traveled to as a child at the whim of his father’s busy work life, Amsterdam had always been his favorite. As a child he’d found magic in the cobbled streets, charming architecture, and cozy chocolate shops. It was one of the rare cities where even his parents would make time to take part in what they usually considered simple tourist activities. In Amsterdam, Cas had been able to pretend even if just for a few hours, that they were a normal family. Gadreel knew that from growing up as family acquaintances and so as a Christmas gift to Castiel each year, they would go visit it together. Cas got to relive some of his favorite childhood memories and they both got to send pictures home to make their parents think everything was going just as they had planned. 

Then Cas had met Dean and hadn’t needed a faraway city to give him the sense of family or love. Because Dean gave those things to him every day. 

“I could still send just you,” Dean’s voice startles Cas out of his reverie and he realizes his eyes have welled up with tears. Dean smiles sadly at him as if he understands. “I should have enough for one ticket.”

Cas frowns. “You want me to go alone?”

“‘s not like I know... anything about the place... And... ‘s important to you.” Dean shrugs it off and a cough steals what Cas is sure would be a self-deprecating laugh. “I’d probably just... embarrass you anyway."

Cas feels his chest ache and the tears get heavier. “Dean...”

Dean smiles sheepishly. “I know it’s not what you’re... used to... but I wanted... to try to give you... something you really... deserve.”

And that’s about all Cas can take. He reaches up to cup Dean’s face who looks worried now. “Cas?”

“A healthy boyfriend is what I deserve,” Cas says and strokes Dean’s pale cheek. “I don’t care about trips to Europe and I don’t care about how much money you have, Dean.” Dean’s eyes widen and Cas knows he’s hit the nail on the head. “I love you for who you are. Which is a kind, generous, intimidatingly intelligent, and stupidly self-sacrificing man. And I would like to keep you for as long as possible.” Dean’s cheeks grow wet under Cas’s fingertips. “So the next time you get some wild idea that includes you almost working yourself to death please remember that the best gift you could ever give me is something I already have.” Cas smiles and leans closer. “Because I have you. And you’re all I could ever need and want and bounds more than I deserve.” 

Dean’s lips are dry when Cas touches them together and for a moment, Dean doesn’t respond. But then he’s pushing into it and Cas feels a hand fisting in his shirt, holding him close. 

Too quickly, Dean is pulling away and he starts coughing. Cas startles to attention and guides the mask to Dean’s face who sucks in a few shaky breaths. Cas stands to remove his own coat and shoes and then settles himself back in the bed, nestling into Dean’s side and resting his head on his shoulder. Dean tilts his head on top of Cas’s and clutches their hands together. 

Dean is released from the hospital a week later. Cas takes him home and immediately puts him to bed where Dean is forced to endure another week of letting someone take care of him. Dean pouts and grumbles about it but Cas catches his soft blushes and smiles and knows that deep down he enjoys being spoiled. And Cas damn sure loves spoiling him. 

Even though he doesn’t have to, Dean ends up taking that third week away from the shop and by that point Cas’s university is on holiday break. After some arguing, pleading, and a little backstabbing - Dean’s words - on Cas’s part, Cas convinces Dean to let him provide the rest of the money for the trip to Amsterdam (what Dean doesn’t need to know and never will know is how much extra Cas paid for the last minute flight, so keep your mouths shut). 

They spend five beautiful days wandering around the historic cities. Cas takes Dean to all sorts of little shops and cafes and restaurants. He makes Dean eat all sorts of chocolates and fights tooth and nail to drag Dean into a sauna only to basically have to carry the man out. They make love for hours that night, Cas clinging to Dean for all he’s worth as Dean fills him repeatedly and whispers sweet and filthy words into Cas’s ear that have him absolutely mewling with pleasure.

And on their last night while sailing under the canals and the lights of the city glowing like stars, Dean pulls a ring out of his pocket and asks Cas to marry him. 

Cas says yes. Several times over.


End file.
